Chapter 217
Victoria’s POV
I set down my fork after finishing the steak and looked up. Blake was staring at his phone, smiling not the polite smile he’d given me all evening, but something real that reached his eyes.
I caught myself staring. Under the restaurant lighting, he looked even better in person than in magazines.
I cleared my throat. “Blake. You’ve been on your phone since we sat down. Work keeping you that busy?”
Blake glanced up, his warmth vanishing instantly. “Yes. Very busy.”
He returned to texting, dismissing me completely. Throughout dinner, he’d barely looked my way, speaking more to the waiter than to me.
I took another sip of wine. “Since I don’t know anyone else in New York, maybe you could give me Audrey’s address? I need somewhere to stay.”
With a place to crash, I can focus on planning more chances to see Blake. He’s my real target in New York, but I know better than to rush things.
Blake looked up from his phone. “Not necessary. I’ve already contacted Audrey. She’s on her way.”
“Really? That’s so helpful – ” I stopped as it hit me. That’s who he’d been texting with that smile. Audrey.
Even after divorcing her, he’s still messaging her? Making her come running?
I bit my lip, watching him. The question burned until I couldn’t hold back.
“Blake, do you like my sister?”
Blake’s expression hardened. “What do you think?” He leaned back. “Or rather, what do you think makes Audrey Sinclair worth liking?”
I noticed movement at the entrance. Audrey stood in the doorway, her face half–hidden. From how she froze, I knew she’d
heard him.
Perfect timing.
I hid my smirk and looked at Blake innocently. “If my sister isn’t worth your affection, that mean you like Miss Rose? I’ve seen the news saying you divorced Audrey for her… What makes that Miss Rose better than my sister?
Blake’s POV
“Why are you asking this?” Something about Victoria’s tone felt calculated.
She twirled her hair. “Just curious. I don’t have a boyfriend yet, and I’d like to know why my sister, who seems perfect, lost.”
I raised an eyebrow and shifted in my chair. “It’s nothing.”
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Chapter 217
I felt someone watching me but didn’t turn. Probably another diner recognizing me.
“Actually, Audrey is quite good,” I admitted.
In our three years together, she never gave me trouble. She worked constantly to be the perfect Parker wife. So perfect it seemed unreal – like there had to be some scheme behind her flawless behavior.
Victoria frowned. “If she’s so good, why divorce her for Miss Rose?”
I considered my answer carefully.
“Because she isn’t Laurel Rose.”
If I hadn’t met Laurel five years ago when she saved me, if she hadn’t cared for me while I was blind, if I hadn’t made that promise… I might have genuinely fallen for someone as thoughtful as Audrey.
But I met Laurel first. I made her a promise. Even though I can’t seem to develop romantic feelings for her, my debt remains.
Victoria’s eyes focused on something behind me. “So you only like Laurel Rose regardless of whether she’s kind or thoughtful?” A small smile played on her lips. “Seems all that Audrey did for you these three years was wasted effort.”
Her voice turned cutting. “Audrey Sinclair, you’re pathetic.”
I turned and saw Audrey standing there, her face blank.
My throat tightened. How long had she been there? How much had she heard?
“When did you get here?” I tried to sound casual.
Audrey approached slowly and sat down beside me without looking my way.
“Right when you were saying I wasn’t worth your affection.”
She’s lost weight since our divorce. Her cheekbones stand out sharply now, giving her face something severe and elegant. The soft beauty I remember is gone, replaced by something harder, almost fierce.
More unsettling is how she refuses to look at me. Since sitting down, her eyes have been fixed only on Victoria. To her, I might as well be invisible.
Being ignored by her creates a strange heaviness in my chest – uncomfortable and oddly suffocating.
“I’ve made myself clear,” Audrey told Victoria, her voice ice–cold. “Your coming to New York has nothing to do with me.”
“I’ve cut ties with Richard and Elaine, Why would I want anything to do with you, a sister with no blood relation?” Audrey leaned forward. “Whoever you came to New York for, go find them for shelter. Don’t involve me. Was that not clear enough, or do you have trouble with basic English?”
Victoria rolled her eyes. “I didn’t come looking for you! After arriving, I only called a few times.”
“After you told me not to contact you, I didn’t try again, Victoria shot back. “You say you don’t want to see me, yet here you are interrupting my dinner. You’re still such a hypocrite.”
Chapter 217
“You’re right, I didn’t find you directly,” Audrey reached for her phone. “But can you explain why someone sent me this?”
She showed Victoria the screen. My video played, catching Victoria’s drunken boasting about making a scene at Audrey’s
apartment.
Victoria paled. “That’s not…”
“Think I wanted to come?” Audrey asked quietly. “You say you don’t want to find me, so why do you need my address and want to stay at my place?”
Victoria turned to me, betrayal in her eyes. “You recorded me?”
I shrugged. “Without that video, she wouldn’t have come.”
“She’s not important!” Victoria hissed, fingers digging into the tablecloth. “Why did you need her here?”
“Why do you think I invited you to dinner?” I replied with a cold smile.
Victoria went still as understanding hit her.
“Mr. Parker,” she whispered, voice trembling, “you were using me to lure Audrey here?”
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